10. Hunter
Hunter
Ihold Cherry close, her head pressed to my chest, right under my chin, as we stare into the forest. Alaric closed the door, giving us a little privacy, but as promised, the four of them stand guard around our vehicle.
We’ll have to figure out a way to properly thank them for their help. They really made taking down this place so much easier. It could have gone really badly.
It did go badly. For a minute there, I was sure we’d lost Gage. No matter how much I tried to stop the bleeding, nothing I did helped. I was positive I was watching my brother die.
And then a miracle happened.
My little miracle.
I kiss the top of her head, holding her tighter, realizing what she did today.
If she hadn’t cried over his body, he would likely be dead, and we’d probably never have figured out that she’s a phoenix shifter.
The gene was obviously latent in her mother and grandmother.
But since they had such a secretive life, I have to think they knew the truth.
They could have saved Cherry so much trouble if they had told her.
Of course, she was only fourteen when they died. Maybe they planned to tell her when they thought she was old enough to understand.
“Hunter?”
“Hmm?” I tilt my head down to see her beautiful blue eyes looking up at me.
“Will you kiss me?”
“Kiss you?” I ask in surprise, not expecting her to ask that right now.
She nods. “I just want to forget about all the bad stuff for a minute. I need you to remind me what’s real. That you’re here.”
I cup her face, my thumb stroking her cheek as my eyes soften, filling with love for my perfect little mate. “I am here, baby girl. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Unable to resist her plea, I lower my lips to hers and kiss her gently, taking my time to worship her lips, and she softly moans against me.
“I love you,” I whisper before kissing her a little more firmly. Her fingers dig into the back of my neck, making my dick jump up between us. Now is not an appropriate time to make love to her, especially not for our first time, but it reminds me how desperate I am to seal the bond.
I start to kiss down her neck, stopping to slowly suck at the juncture of her shoulder.
“Hunter,” she groans.
“I can’t wait to bite you,” I admit. “To seal our bond.”
“Do it,” she begs.
Someone taps on the window, and I jerk my head around to find Finn looking at us. He points in front of the vehicle, and I have to dip my head a little to see what he’s pointing at.
“Is that smoke?” Cherry asks in alarm.
I don’t answer; instead, I ask through the bond, hoping the others are close enough to respond with some good news.
“Is that smoke from you guys?”
Thankfully, Chase answers immediately. “Yep. We’re almost at the SUV. You got our girl?”
I hug her tightly to me as I reassure him. “I’m holding her right now.”
Looking down at her, I tell her, “They’re okay, they’re almost here.” She turns her head back to look through the windshield, her body tense until she sees the four of them appear through the trees.
I hear a small gasp escape her the moment she sees them, and she continues to hold me tightly as they pick up their pace, jogging up to the SUV as Alaric opens the side door for us.
Chase reaches us first, climbing in and pulling her into his lap. He gives her a quick kiss before hugging her, neither of them speaking.
Maddox leans in, rubbing her shoulder and making her turn to him. He leans forward, giving her a gentle kiss before speaking. “Let’s get you home, shall we?”
She nods, and he moves around to the driver’s seat as Gage takes his place, kissing her quickly before he climbs into the front passenger seat.
Bain steps up next, placing his hand behind her neck and leaning forward until his forehead rests against hers. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath then gives her a fierce kiss and jumps in the seat behind us.
Finn gives us a nod before shutting the door, joining the others in his car as they lead the way home.
Everyone is silent until we’re back on the main road. Then Chase presses his nose to the top of Cherry’s head and takes a deep inhale. “Fuck I missed this scent,” he says with a sigh.
She snuggles in closer to his chest, sniffing him before her nose wrinkles. “You smell like human blood.”
She glances around the vehicle, her nose twitching as she adds, “All four of you do.” She licks her lips, looking a little nervous before she asks. “Did you kill him?”
“Yes,” Bain says instantly. “We killed all of them, and there is no chance of any of them coming back to life.”
“Like Blaze,” she adds.
“We’ll get him, don’t worry,” Maddox says from the driver’s seat.
“Yeah, don’t forget we have a whole coven offering to help us now,” I tell her, threading my fingers through hers and offering her a smile of reassurance.
She rests her chin on Chase’s shoulder and looks back at Bain as she asks him, “Are you still in pain? From the severed bond?”
“I’ll manage,” he says, not really answering.
“So that’s a yes,” she says in worry.
“It’s much more manageable now you’re here with us,” Maddox tells her. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I don’t want you to be in any pain,” she tells him. “Especially because of me.”
“Having you alive is worth any pain,” Gage tells her. But it doesn’t look like that makes her feel any better.
“I’ll fix it,” she says with determination. “When we get home, I’ll figure it out.” I can see the doubt in her eyes and give her hand an encouraging squeeze.
“We’ll figure it out together,” I reassure her.
I see her eyelids start to grow heavy and remember how much sleep she needs after she regenerates.
“Hold on,” I tell her as I reach under the seat. “Before you go to sleep, drink some water.” I open the bottle and hold it up to her lips. She drinks half of it before pulling back.
“Good girl,” Chase says, kissing her temple and making a small smile pull at her lips. Then she rests her cheek on his shoulder and closes her eyes.
Within seconds, she’s asleep.
“She’ll probably sleep for at least a day, maybe more,” Gage says, looking back at her. “Regeneration takes a big toll on her body, plus the emotional whiplash she’s gone through since being taken last night.”
“I feel like it’s been a week since I’ve seen her,” Chase says, gently rubbing the back of her head. “Not half a day.”
“I’m just glad we finally took care of that asshole doctor,” Bain says gruffly from behind me. I turn to him as I ask, “What did you do to him?”
A smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth as he sits there with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes filling with satisfaction. “Cherry didn’t tell us everything he did to her, but I took some guesses and tried to repay some of that back.” He shrugs as he adds, “It’s only fair.”
“But he’s definitely dead now?” I ask, needing to know for sure.
“After seeing Blaze’s missing body, we took off everyone’s heads and placed them in another room, setting that one on fire first,” Gage says as calmly as if he were explaining how to cook a steak. I’m just glad he’s much better at killing than he is at cooking.
“That ought to do it,” I say, leaning back with relief.
“How was she?” Maddox asks after a few minutes of silence. It takes me a moment to realize he’s looking at me in the rearview mirror.
“She’s okay, all things considered. She’s terrified and shocked. Seeing Gage almost die definitely didn’t help.”
“She’ll need time to recover,” Gage says. “She went through a hell of a lot since she was taken.”
My free hand clenches, thinking about how the doctor skinned her. I have to try to focus on something else, or I risk throwing up.
“Do you think he did that before?” Chase asks. When I look at him, he grimaces.
“What?” I ask him.
“The… fur thing.”
He was clearly thinking about the same thing as me.
“It’s definitely possible,” Gage says. “If she knew, she probably kept it from us on purpose, knowing we’d be upset.”
“Speaking of which,” I say, using this as a segway. “She’s probably going to want to bond with everyone as soon as she wakes up.”
“She’ll need time to emotionally recover,” Maddox says as if I’m the one who suggested it.
“I know. But she’s clearly not happy about you three being in pain, and she already asked me to complete the bond with her.”
I look at her beautiful sleeping face. She’s not the only one desperate to complete the bond.
Watching Blaze approach her as she tried to close herself in the panic room was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to see, maybe only second to him carrying her out of there while Chase and I lay paralyzed in the bed.
Whatever magic he used to get into the house unseen or unscented, we need to make sure we have a way to see through it. And now that Cherry doesn’t have a pack bond with us, it’s put her at further risk, not being able to yell out for help.
Hopefully, if she bonds with Chase and I, the link will be reestablished, and we’ll be able to hear her again. It’s only been hours, and I already miss hearing her random thoughts that she can’t control.
“Hunt?” Chase says to me through the bond. I look at him in question. “Once she’s fully recovered, and feeling up to it, we’re cementing our bond with her. I can’t wait any longer.”
I grin at him and nod, glad we’re on the same page where our mate is concerned. “Me either.”